Quake, Tsunami Altered Sea Bed, No Shipping Worry
Date: 24-Feb-05
Country: SINGAPORE
Some maritime authorities said the Dec. 26 quake may have pushed up the sea bed and altered water depths. Singapore media said in January the sea might be as much as 1,000 metres (3,000 ft) shallower in some places.
But a survey by the British Royal Navy's 131-metre (430 ft) HMS Scott hydrographic vessel found no such evidence.
"We have gone out there. We have looked. The big pinnacles and spikes appearing following the earthquake ... I don't believe they are there. We have disproved it," British Royal Navy Commander Steve Malcolm told a news conference aboard the ship.
The British team of scientists surveyed 45,000 square km (17,380 sq miles) of waters off Indonesia's Sumatra island near the epicentre of the earthquake.
Their Jan. 26 to Feb. 15 mission came after the US navy surveyed in January the nearby Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes which carries about a quarter of world trade and runs between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Results of the US survey have not been published but a geologist said ships navigating the area the British team surveyed had no need to worry.
"It has been modelled that the seabed moved a maximum of 10 metres (33 ft), so any movements in those depths will not create any hazards as far as shipping is concerned because the seabed is still very deep," said marine geologist Dave Tappin of the British Geological Survey.
Experts had said changes in the depth of the sea could have been caused by the elevation of the earth's plates during the earthquake or a pile-up of sediment by the tsunami waves.
The British survey, carried out in Indonesia's Economic Exclusion Zone, was observed by two Indonesian officials for two days, Malcolm said.
The presence of foreign military in Indonesian waters has traditionally been a touchy issue. The waters around the epicentre of the tsunami and earthquake, which fall within the Malacca Strait, are also sensitive areas.
"They came on board for two days, photographed everything ... had a good look around and made sure they were happy with what we were doing," Malcolm said.
($1=1.63 Singapore dollars)